Fieldtrip to Carol Warner’s Iris Gardens: Draycott

In late May, CGC organized a fieldtrip for interested members to visit Carol Warner’s Draycott Gardens. Sue, Marjorie, Dottie, Connie, Gayle, Brenda and Barb, Fran and Marilyn  carpooled and later Kelly arrived.  The weather had been drizzly, so we were prepared with slickers and umbrellas, but the weather gods were kind. We just had squelchy ground underfoot.  Days of rain had impacted the substance of the blossoms and weighted them down, so many iris had a translucency to the petals. Still, we were able to see the vibrant colors and stature of the plants. In addition to her different types of iris, it was a pleasure to walk the grounds to see the shade gardens, peonies, perennials, flowering trees and evergreens all charmingly grouped about the property. A large “test garden” of named iris were in the last area–a sort of open field with rolling hills in the distance.  Marjorie treated us to lemonade and lemon pound cake with strawberries to round out the trip.

The following are a small selection of pictures taken to get an idea of what our visit was like. We were also noting names of iris we would like to purchase later this summer, but the photographer was not capturing the varieties of iris in the pictures except when a label happened to be in the photo!  (Click pix to enlarge)